Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky: new film at Cannes

(May 2009)

Igor Stravinsky – the man and the music – takes centre screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with the premiere of Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky selected as the festival’s finale.

The new biopic explores the relationship between the haute couture icon and the Russian composer. Central to the film is The Rite of Spring: Chanel is mesmerised by the scandalous premiere in 1913, and seven years later is introduced by Diaghilev to Stravinsky, now a penniless émigré living in Paris with his family. She invites them to stay at her new villa in Garches and, as the composer works on retouches of The Rite of Spring for a Paris revival, a mutual attraction gathers force.

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky is based on the novel Coco & Igor by Chris Greenhalgh and directed by Jan Kounen. Mads Mikkelsen, whose credits include Le Chiffre in the Bond movie Casino Royale, stars as the composer and Coco Chanel is played by Anna Mouglalis, the actress and model associated with Karl Lagerfeld and the Chanel fashion house. Boosey & Hawkes acted as music supervisor for the new film and in addition to The Rite of Spring the score for the movie includes a wealth of Stravinsky’s music.

In the UK, Birmingham recently completed its epic four-year IgorFest journeying through Stravinsky’s complete output, the result of a unique collaboration between the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet and other leading arts organisations in the region. The composer’s ballets form a central focus at the 2009 BBC Proms, with his 11 danceworks from The Firebird to Agon spread throughout the season.


Photo: Mads Mikkelsen and Anna Mouglalis in Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (Eurowide Productions)

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